Sheet-metal shearing machine

ABSTRACT

A sheet-metal machine adaptable for use as shears, or for bending sheet metal, or as a punch press. The machine utilizes a pair of floating heads with an adjustable cam in each head. The floating heads are interconnected by a drive shaft and can be adjusted so that the cutting blade can be used either for right or left shearing.

United States Patent H Eddy Jan. 16, 1973 [541 SHEET-METAL SHEARING MACHINE 2,513,075 6/l950 Youngstrand ..s3/53o 55 971 [76] Inventor: George D. Eddy, 2505 North Pine 8 83/530 Street m Calif 91770 Primary Examiner-Frank T. Yost 22 Filed: March-26, 1971 ArwmeyMarvin Jabin [211 App]. No.: 128,236 57 ABSTRACT l A sheet-metal machine adaptable for use as shears, or [52] U.S.Cl. ..83/374, 83/382, 83/530,- f bending Sheet metal, or as a punch press. The I 3 machine utilizes a pair of floating heads with an ad- Cl. ..B26d justable cam in each head The floating heads are in. Field 0f Search terconnected by a drive shaft and can be adjusted so 623 that the cutting blade can be used either for right or left shearing. [56] References Cited r Y I 9 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 271,956 2/1883 Wais ..83/530 X 1 SHEET-METAL SHEARING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Machines which can be used for shearing sheet metal, sheet-metal brakes, and punch presses are individually well known in the art, but they are large, heavy and very expensive, and a separate machine must i be used for each of the three different operations.

There is a need for a single relatively small, light-weight and inexpensive machine that can be used for all three operations interchangeably. There is also a need for a simple, inexpensive machine that can be used for rightto-left and left-to-right shearing of thick sheet metal material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a sheet metal shearing machine that can be easily adapted for use as a'sheet-metal brake or as a punch press, has a floating head assembly at each end of a drive shaft. Each floating head assembly has arms which slidably engage one of a pair of vertical supports, each of which has a threaded shaft pivotally coupled thereto. A threaded collar which rides up or BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features of the present invention which'are believed to be novel are set forth withparticularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation,'together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description,

. taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,-

in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a sheet-metal shearing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is aview taken along'the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the sheet-metal machine of FIG. 1 adapted to be used as a brake for bending sheet metal. g I

FIG. 8 is a view taken along the line 88 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the sheet-metal machine of FIG. 1 adapted for use as a punch press.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a different embodiment of the resent invention. 7

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now to the. drawings, FIGS. 1-6 show floating heads 11 and 12 mountedupon U-shaped vertical supports 13 and 14,,respectively, of frame 16, and interconnected by drive shaft 18. Handle 20 is rigidly connected to drive shaft 18, but is fully adjustable from right to left laterally along drive shaft 18, and pivotally thereabout, and may even be removed if desired.

Each floating head has a pair of upper arms 22 and a pair of lower arms 24, with the arms of each pair being positioned on opposite sides of one of the vertical supports 13 and 14.

Each of the arms 22 and 24 has a finger 30 passing therethrough. One end of each finger 30 is hemispherical and fits into a corresponding recess in a disc-like shoe 32. Each finger 30 is threaded and can be screwed in or out of its respective arm by means of an Allen wrench until floating heads 1 1 and 12 are slidably mounted upon vertical supports 13 and 14, respectively and a lock nut 34 can be tightened to hold each finger 30 in place.

Thus, when the fingers 30 are properly adjusted, each floating head will remain securely in contact with its respective vertical support as a result of the pressure I and friction between the shoes 32 and the vertical supports, but the application of force can cause the shoes 32 to slide along the interface. Shoes 32 can be oil-impregnated bronze bearings.

Wheels 36 and 38 are mounted upon threaded shafts 40 and 42, respectively. The upper ends of threaded shafts 40 and 42 are pivotally mounted upon the upper ends of vertical supports 13 and 14, respectively, just below wheels 36 and 38 by a pivot pin 44 and a collar 46. The lower end of each of the threaded shafts 40 and 42 passes through and threadably engages a Ufshaped collar 50 having extremities 52 and 54 which pivotally engage a collar 56 by means of a pair of pivot pins 58,

asshown in FIGS. 4 and 6.

An adjustable cam assembly 60 is welded to each of the ends of drive shaft 18 withineach of the floating heads 11 and 12. Each floating head contains a slot 62 to receive the drive shaft 18 and is secured thereto by a collar assembly 64 which is bolted to the floating head by bolts 66 and contains ball bearings with lubrication fittings 67.

Each adjustable cam assembly 60 is U-shaped and Stop 76 and retaining shoulder 77 prevent theblock from being slid out of the cam assembly 60.

Finger 78 extends from block 70 in a direction parallel to drive shaft 18 and is secured within block 70 by means of set screw 80. Collar 56 is mounted upon the end of finger 78. The offset distance between drive shaft 18 and finger 78 is controlled by turning bolt 68, thereby sliding block 70, until the desired eccentricity is obtained.

. Cutting blade 82 is secured to su'pport 84 by means of a pair-of bolts 86. The support 84'is weldedto floating heads 11 and I2. Right-angle support 88 is secured to support 84 by means of screws 90. Material holddown 92 is a self-leveling device for holding down the material 93 to be worked upon and is attached to right angle support 88 by means of wing-nut clamp 94, so that it can be easily removed. Support 96 is attached to support 84 by screw 97, and horizontal set screw 98 of support 96 is adjusted to align cutting blade 82 with support 84.

When it is desired to use the described machine for shearing, wheels 36 and 38 are manually turned with the aid of handles 108, causing shaft 40 and 42 to rotate, which in turn causes threaded collars 50 to rise or lower vertically, depending upon the direction of rotation of wheels 36 and 38. The vertical movement of collars 50 causes floating heads 11 and 12 to move up or down accordingly, and when the collars 50 are moved unequally, one floating head will be higher than the other, and the drive shaft 18 and shearing blade 82 will not be horizontal, as shown in FIG. 1.

The unequal movement of the collars 50 will also cause the collars 56 on fingers 78 to pivot about pivot pins 58, as shown in FIG. 4, and will force the shoes 32 of the arms 22 and 24 to slide unequally laterally along the vertical supports 13 and 14, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The vertical positions of the floating heads 11 and 12 can be read by noting the relative positions of the pointers 110 with respect to the scales 112. Brackets 114 mount pointers 110 upon floating heads 11 and 12.

The sheet metal material 93 is than placed upon steel die 115, which is secured to base plate 116 by bolts 117. Lower shearing blade 118 is secured to L-shaped support 119 by bolts 120, and L-shaped support 119 is in turn secured to base plate 116 by screws 121. The base plate 116 can be adjusted forwards and backwards upon support 122, and the lower shearing blade 118 can be moved upon L-shaped support 119 so as to be aligned with upper shearing blade 82 by adjusting horizontal set screw 123.

Stop 124 can be positioned by adjusting set screw 125 and sliding support 126 along shaft 127, so that the desired length of material 93 will be sheared off. Material 93 is pushed back until one end abuts against stop 124.

Handle 20 is then manually pulled down by the machine operator, causing drive shaft 18 and adjustable cam assembly 60 to rotate. The finger 78, being eccentric with respect to drive shaft 18, tries to orbit around drive shaft 18, but is unable to do so because of the physical restrictions of collars 56 and 50. As a consequence, collar 50 moves somewhat as a pendulum, with shafts 40 and 42 pivoting slightly back and forth about pivot pin 44 within the confines of vertical supports 13 and 14, respectively, and the entire drive shaft 18 is forced to move vertically downward, causing shearing blade 82 to travel down and to shear material 93 against lower shear blade 118. Hold-down 92 contacts material 93 and holds it in place against steel die 115 during the actual shearing.

If the operator continued to move the handle 20 in. the same direction, past 180 and until it rotated 360, the drive shaft 18 and the shearing blade 82 would move upwards vertically until they return to their starting positions. Thus, the drive shaft 18 would be simultaneously rotating 180 and moving vertically downward, and then rotating another 180 and moving vertically upward. In practice, however, after the material 93 has been sheared, the operator simply reverses the direction of handle 20 and pushes it in the opposite direction back to the starting position, thereby raising shearing blade 82.

The amount of eccentricity between drive shaft 18 and finger 78 can be adjusted to control the amount of leverage desired for cutting materials of different thickness. The floating head 1 1 can be positioned lower than the floating head 12, if left-to-right shearing is desired, instead of the right-to-left shearing described and shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 7 and 8 shown how the machine can be easily modified for bending sheet-metal. The wheels 36 and 38 are turned until floating heads 11 and 12 are horizontal, as indicated by the readings of the pointers 1 10 on the scales 1 12. The finger-bending plates 130 of varying sizes are inserted in the space between the support 84 and right-angle support 88 of the shearingblade assembly and attached to the right-angle support 88 by screws 132. The base plate 116 is adjusted by loosening and then tightening bolts 134 in U-clamps 136 when bending die 115 is in position for the bending operation.

FIG. 9 shows how the machine can easily be modified for use as a punch press. With the floating heads 11 and 12 horizontal, the punch 140 is mounted upon the shearing blade assembly by inserting rightangle support 142 in the space between the support 84 and right-angle support 88 and attached thereto by screws 132. The base plate 116 is adjusted so that the die 143 is aligned with punch 140.

FIG. 10 shows a different embodiment that can be used to hold the material 93 securely in place when the machine is being operated either as shears, for bending, or as a punch press. The hold-down 92 is removed and replaced by holding-fingers 144, which are spring mounted upon bracket 146 so as to extend downward. Bracket 146 is fastened to right-angle support 88 by clamp 94.

When the right-angle support 88 is raised, holdingfingers 144 are high enough for the material 93 to be inserted in position upon steel die 115. As the rightangle support 88 is lowered, some of the fingers 144 come in contact with the material 93, and the spring tension therefrom holds the material 93 in place. Those fingers that do not contact the material 93, merely descend until they contact the steel die 1 15.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects, and that the intention is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

1 claim: v j

1. Apparatus for shearing sheet metal ,comprising:

a. drive-shaft means having eccentric cam means at each of its extremities,

b. a pair of vertical support means,

c. a pair of floating-head means, each being coupled to one end of said drive-shaft means and to one of said support means,

d. means for raising and lowering each of said floating head means,

e. upper shearing-blade means connected between said pair of floating-head means, and

f. lower shearing-blade means for supporting the material to be sheared when said upper shearingblade means is lowered.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which each of said floating-head means slidably engages its respective vertical support means for vertical and lateral movement.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which each of said floating-head means includes arm means positioned on opposite sides of said vertical support means for the slidable engagement therewith.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which said arm means includes a pair of upper arms and a pair of lower arms.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which each of said cam means is rigidly connected at one end of said drive-shaft means and has finger means extending therefrom in a direction parallel to said drive-shaft means, each of said cam means being adjustable so that the distance between said finger means and said driveshaft means can be varied.

6. Apparatus as definedin claim 5 in which said means for raising and lowering each of said floatinghead means includes a rotatable threaded shaft means pivotally coupled to one of said vertical support means, and threaded collar means about said threaded shaft means, the extremity of each of said finger means being pivotally coupled to one of said collar means.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 in which each of the extremities of said drive-shaft means is rotatably coupled to one'of said floating-head means.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 including, in addition, hold-down means coupled to said upper shearingblade means for securely holding in place the material to be sheared when said upper shearing-blade means is lowered.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 including, in addition, means for attaching punch means to said upper shearing-blade means, and adjustable die means for cooperation therewith so as to enable said apparatus to be used as a punch press. 

1. Apparatus for shearing sheet metal, comprising: a. drive-shaft means having eccentric cam means at each of its extremities, b. a pair of vertical support means, c. a pair of floating-head means, each being coupled to one end of said drive-shaft means and to one of said support means, d. means for raising and lowering each of said floating head means, e. upper shearing-blade means connected between said pair of floating-head means, and f. lower shearing-blade means for supporting the material to be sheared when said upper shearing-blade means is lowered.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which each of said floating-head means slidably engages its respective vertical support means for vertical and lateral movement.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which each of said floating-head means includes arm means positioned on opposite sides of said vertical support means for the slidable engagement therewith.
 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which said arm means includes a pair of upper arms and a pair of lower arms.
 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which each of said cam means is rigidly connected at one end of said drive-shaft means and has finger means extending therefrom in a direction parallel to said drive-shaft means, each of said cam means being adjustable so that the distance between said finger means and said drive-shaft means can be varied.
 6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which said means for raising and lowering each of said floating-head means includes a rotatable threaded shaft means pivotally coupled to one of said vertical support means, and threaded collar means about said threaded shaft means, the extremity of each of said finger means being pivotally coupled to one of said collar means.
 7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 in which each of the extremities of said drive-shaft means is rotatably coupled to one of said floating-head means.
 8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 including, in addition, hold-down means coupled to said upper shearing-blade means for securely holding in place the material to be sheared when said upper shearing-blade means is lowered.
 9. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 including, in addition, means for attaching punch means to said upper shearing-blade means, and adjustable die means for cooperation therewith so as to enable said apparatus to be used as a punch press. 